The overzealousness of a Canada Post inspector and the negligence of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) spoiled a long investigation and allowed an alleged firearms manufacturer to be acquitted. The Montrealer was suspected of wanting to assemble more than a hundred weapons popular with criminals.
What there is to know
- Montrealer Desmond McClish was acquitted of firearms manufacturing charges.
- His fundamental rights were violated by the overzealousness of a Canada Post inspector and the RCMP.
- Desmond McClish was suspected of ordering gun parts through the mail.
“The Charter was adopted more than 40 years ago. How can we explain that even today state agents behave in such a disrespectful manner towards him, without worrying about the consequences on the administration of justice? », asks Judge Christian M. Tremblay in a decision rendered last Thursday which particularly mistreats Canada Post.
The judge concluded that Desmond McClish’s fundamental rights had been violated by Canada Post and federal and provincial police officers. The 45-year-old Montrealer, arrested in 2019, was therefore acquitted of all charges, since most of the evidence was excluded by the magistrate.
Desmond McClish was charged with possession of restricted firearms and manufacturing restricted firearms. According to the Crown, McClish had parts delivered by mail that allowed him to make firearms. He sometimes presented himself at the counter under an assumed name.
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Desmond McClish, charged with possession and manufacturing of firearms
Although he was prohibited from possessing a gun due to a court order, he was able to renew his gun license in 2015 due to a typo in his name.
“A murder weapon”
The police seized 25 Polymer80 firearm frames, Glock magazines and silencers from his home. These are not functional weapons, but only weapon parts. However, according to police, McClish had ordered parts allowing him to assemble 76 AR-15 type rifles and 45 Glock type pistols.
“We use a lot of this type of weapon for criminal purposes. It’s a murder weapon,” an expert testified during the legal process.
But regardless of the evidence amassed, it has no value, since the fundamental rights of the accused were violated from the start by Canada Post.
It all started in 2018 when Canada Post’s anti-money laundering team noticed “suspicious” activities on the part of McClish. A Canada Post security inspector then contacted the RCMP by email to inform them.
Three days later, the zealous inspector and his superiors decided to disclose personal information about Desmond McClish to the RCMP. They then know very well that they are contravening the Personal Information Protection Act, since they do not have a mandate. But the situation is too serious, in their eyes.
The inspector continues his zeal by x-raying a package intended for McClish. According to the judge, this amounts to opening the package, and therefore to a search. Furthermore, the inspector did not search this package for legitimate reasons, but rather to advance the RCMP criminal investigation that he himself had initiated, affirms the judge.
“The RCMP was nonchalant”
These pranks may seem trivial at first glance. However, these are serious violations under the Charter, according to Justice Tremblay. The zealous Canada Post inspector had no right to pass on the accused’s personal information to the RCMP without judicial authorization. To justify such communication, the chairman of the board of Canada Post would have had to authorize it.
[L’inspecteur] demonstrated blatant disregard for the law. The inspector’s actions are serious and deliberate. He acted in bad faith with respect to McClish’s rights.
Extract from the judgment of Christian M. Tremblay
The magistrate also criticizes the RCMP for its “negligence” and its “lack of rigor”. The federal police in fact allowed Canada Post to carry out a search without a warrant, even though it would have been impossible for them to obtain judicial authorization to do so at this stage.
“The RCMP has been nonchalant about McClish’s rights. She took advantage of the zeal and illegal actions of the inspector without asking any questions,” the judge maintains.
Obviously not interested in this matter, the RCMP handed over the investigation in 2019 to ENRCO, a squad fighting organized crime headed by the SQ. However, it was too late, since the evidence was already tainted, according to the magistrate.
Judge Tremblay also blames ENRCO for hiding information from a judge during the investigation by falsely indicating that it began in April 2019, and by failing to say that the investigation was initially the responsibility of the RCMP. .
“The affiant did not act in good faith. He hid important, even capital, information from the authorizing judge. This is serious negligence. […]. The unacceptable conduct of state agents and the numerous breaches of the principle of the primacy of law require that the Court dissociate itself from the fruit of this illegal conduct,” ruled Judge Tremblay.
Me Philippe Vallières-Roland and Me Nicole St-Pierre represented the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions, while Me Marc Labelle and Me Claudia Doyle defended the accused.